EXCLUSIVE: AI maturity provides retailers tangible benefits
New research exclusively released to Chain Store Age reveals retailers that lead in artificial intelligence lead in other areas as well.
Analysis from Accenture and the AI-Driven Enterprise Institute (AIDE) indicates that the most “AI-mature” retailers — those with stronger AI leadership, strategy, organizational alignment and implementation from publicly observable data — are reaping quantifiable ROI from their AI investments.
For example, the research shows that the most AI-mature of the top 100 U.S. retailers delivered a 25.1% three-year total shareholder return compound annual growth rate (CAGR), compared with a 3.8% CAGR for retailers considered in earlier stages of AI maturity, or a a 6.6x difference.
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The findings also demonstrate that the most AI-mature retailers operated with gross margins 20.7 percentage points higher than their less mature peers. In addition, the analysis found that 73 of the top 100 retailers remain in early or developing stages of AI maturity, while only four have reached leading or pioneer status under the AIDE framework.
AIDE measures AI maturity using public signals like earnings transcripts, 10-Ks, hiring data, and patent filings rather than surveys or self-reported claims. It scores companies based on four pillars:
- AI literacy: What leaders know.
- AI advocacy: What leaders signal.
- AI orientation: What the organization prioritizes.
- AI implementation: What the organization builds.
The research found that only about one-third of executives at the top 100 retailers demonstrate meaningful AI literacy but identifies a clear maturity path of leadership AI literacy coming first, followed by executive advocacy, strategic orientation, and implementation.
The analysis suggests the advantage of AI maturity comes from embedding AI into the way retailers run the business — including planning, forecasting, sourcing, replenishment, fulfillment, pricing, promotion, personalization, and day-to-day decision-making.
The research also found that AI maturity varies by retail business model. E-commerce marketplaces lead across AI maturity dimensions, while segments such as discount and off-price retail lag behind, which analysis indicates reflects differences in margins, data availability, and operational complexity.
As AI advantages compound through better data, more refined models, and stronger operating capabilities, the report concludes that the window for retailers to establish meaningful competitive advantage with AI is narrowing.
“Retailers are moving past the question of whether to invest in AI,” said Paul Cheek, CEO of AIDE. “The bigger question now is whether they have the leadership, strategy, and operating model to turn AI into better decisions, stronger margins, and faster execution.”
The analysis is based on the framework developed by AIDE, using publicly available data on the top 100 U.S. retailers.
